(A “Sermon Echo” is a short reminder or elaboration of something I preached about on a previous Sunday.)

Mark 1:21-34 tell of Jesus amazing the people by the way he taught as one with authority. It also tells of Jesus acting with authority by the way he overcame evil spirits and healed various diseases. The result of Jesus’ authoritative teaching and actions was immediate popularity. It must have been an exhausting day. The next morning, did Jesus sleep in and order breakfast in bed? Isn’t that what pop stars do?   Well, it’s not what Jesus did.  Did he call a press conference to exploit the momentum? After all, that’s what pop stars do. Well, that’s not what Jesus did either. Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”

I think this reveals something very important about Jesus. Very simply, it reveals that Jesus placed a high priority on prayer. Equally simple is the implication: If Jesus placed a high priority on prayer, then we should too!